On this date in 1953 the Pittsburgh Pirates traded young infielder Danny O’Connell to the Milwaukee Braves in exchange for six players and $100,000 cash. Danny had a strong season for the Pirates in 1953 hitting .294 with 57 walks and 88 runs scored. He was 26 at the time of the trade and had played just one prior season in the majors(1950) due to serving two years in the military. This deal, along with another trade a month later that included $70,000 cash plus the dealing away of Murry Dickson, who was one of the higher paid players on the team, gave the team financial flexibility they wouldn’t have had due to very poor attendance in the early-to-mid 50’s. It was done as much for the cash aspect as it was done for the players in return, despite the fact they received six players back.
O’Connell as it was, had his best seasons with the Pirates. In four years in Milwaukee he was a .248 hitter with only 127 RBIs in 457 games so the deal turned out to be a good one for the Pirates even if the players returning weren’t that good. They received Sid Gordon back, a veteran OF/3B who had a better year in 1954 with the Pirates than O’Connell had in any year. Gordon hit .306 with 12 homers and 67 walks in 131 games. He was sold the following season to the Giants. Max Surkont was also in the deal and the Pirates got two years of starting pitching out of him. He was just 16-32 but the team was barely any better when he didn’t pitch. Curt Raydon was a 20-year-old minor league pitcher at the time of the trade. It took him until 1958 to reach the majors and he played just one year there due to arm injuries derailing his career. Another pitcher, Fred Waters, pitched well for the Pirates in 25 games between 1955-56 but he was on the older side for a minor league. He pitched in the minors until 1962, winning 118 minor league games. The two other returns were Sam Jethroe, who played just two games for the Pirates in 1954 and Larry LaSalle, a minor league pitcher who retired after the 1954 season
Born on this date in 1964 was third baseman Jeff King, who played for the Pirates from 1989 to 1996. King was the first overall pick in the 1986 amateur draft by the Pirates. King struggled for years to put it all together, he was rushed through the system despite average numbers and while he made it to the majors in 1989, it took until 1993 for him to have a season worthy of his draft status. He hit .295 that season with 35 doubles, 98 RBIs and 82 runs scored. The following season he regressed due to the back problems that he suffered from most of his career. Those problems seemed to take a toll on him during the middle of that strike-shortened 1994 season when he hit just .263 with five homers in 94 games.
He drove in 87 runs in 122 games for the Pirates in 1995, then set career highs in homers with 30, RBIs with 111(he would top that by one the following season) runs scored with 91 and doubles with 36. King was traded to the Royals along with Jay Bell in December 1996 in a trade that was covered here. His final stats with the Pirates were .258 average, 99 homers and 493 RBIs in 894 games. Third base was his primary position in Pittsburgh, but he also saw plenty of time at first base and second base. King batted .205 with two RBIs in 12 playoff games for the Pirates, seeing action in both 1990 and 1992. He did not play during the 1991 playoffs.
Also born on this date, in 1950, was shortstop Mario Mendoza, who played for the Pirates from 1974 to 1978. Mendoza was signed as an amateur free agent in 1970 and slowly worked his way through the minors, earning promotions based more on his defense than his hitting. He is still often referenced to this day due to his poor hitting skills, as someone who has a batting average hovering near .200 is said to be near the Mendoza line. He hit below .200 in three of his five seasons in Pittsburgh and five times overall in his nine-year career. With the Pirates his best season was actually his rookie year when he hit .221 in 91 games. In was the only time in his five seasons in Pittsburgh he batted over 100 times. He played 324 total games with the Pirates, coming to the plate just 478 times which resulted in a .204 average. He was traded to the Mariners in December of 1978 in a trade that was covered here.
Lee King (1892) Outfielder for the 1916-18 Pirates. King joined the Pirates in late 1916 after hitting .315 over 125 games for Wheeling of the Central League. He went 2-for-18 with seven strikeouts in eight games, but still gained a spot on the 1917 club. The first full season, King hit .249 with 35 RBIs and 32 runs scored in 111 games. He spent most of his time in right field, as the Pirates finished with a 51-103 record. In 1918, King batted .232 with 11 RBIs before deciding to leave the team on June 20th to enlist in the military to aid the fight in WWI. The war was over shortly thereafter and in January of 1919, he was sold to the New York Giants. He ended up playing in the majors until 1922 and retired from minor league ball four years later.
Bonnie Hollingsworth (1895) Right-handed pitcher for the 1922 Pirates. After going 21-11, 2.56 in 41 games for Wichita Falls of the Texas League in 1921, Hollingsworth went to Spring Training with the 1922 Pirates. He made the team on Opening Day, but didn’t make his first appearance until the end of May. He ended up being used only in a mop-up role through mid-July, posting a 7.90 ERA in 13.2 innings. The Pirates lost all nine games in which they used him. Hollingsworth ended up moving on to the Washington Senators the next season, then to Brooklyn in 1924. After spending three years in the minors, he resurfaced one last time to pitch for the 1928 Boston Braves. He finished his big league career going 4-9, 4.91 in 36 games.
Finally, born on this date in 1935 was left-handed pitcher Al Jackson, who played for the Pirates in 1959 and 1961. Jackson was signed by the Pirates as an amateur free agent in 1955 and got to pitch in his hometown of Waco, Texas for the Waco Pirates that first season. He was loaned to the Mexican League in 1956 and pitched just eight games in 1957 but he would break out the next year in A ball. He went 18-9, 2.07 in 1958 then followed that up the next season in AAA with a 15-4, 2.33 record, earning a major league call-up in early May for one game, followed by a month recall starting May 31st and then a late season appearance at the end of September. He pitched eight games that 1959 season for the Pirates, three as a starter and he had no record to go along with a 6.50 ERA in 18 innings. He spent the entire 1960 season in the minors despite a strong 3.06 ERA in 197 innings. He pitched well in 1961 back in AAA, posting a 2.89 ERA in 196 innings which earned him a September call-up and three late season appearances, two as a starter. He won his final game in a Pirates uniform, throwing a complete game during the team’s 11-6 win. Jackson was drafted by the Mets in the 1962 expansion draft. He had a 67-99, 3.98 career record in 302 games, 184 as a starter.
